There will be boys

It's 8 a.m. and the washing machine is already running. Aren't you so darn proud of me?

Linda is encountering a new phase of life with teenaged girls in the house, and my instinctive reaction is...

Hahahahahaha.

Sorry, as the mother of girls, I just couldn't resist. But truly, I sympathize. I feel your pain. Other than sympathy, however, I can offer little else. Because where there are teenaged girls, there are teenaged boys. It's a given, kind of like the fact that where there's a McDonalds, there'll be a Burger King not too far away. There's no escaping it.

The benefit of hindsight has taught me several things, and these bits of wisdom I offer to Linda and others. There will be boys you like, and boys you don't. There will be boys you like at first and then grow less fond of, and vice versa. There will be boys that leave you with a little niggling feeling at the back of your head that says "Alert!" and boys that will leave you wondering, "What the h**l is she thinking?" And just wait until the break-up that breaks YOUR heart as well as hers.

No specifics - my children would kill me. But trust me on this. The hardest part is knowing when to keep your mouth shut. I don't always do so good with that one.

In my most humble opinion, the presence of boys plural, at the age of 14, is better than the presence of one-boy-to-the-exclusion-of-all-others. Hell, that'd be my preference at 18, but we can't always get what we want. Today it's boys - tomorrow it's relationships. Now THAT's scary.

But if you've got girls who seem confident and secure in who they are and where they're going, regardless of how many boys are lurking around, then it's probably going to be okay. And realizing that Mommy's got a telephoto lens and knows how to use it may just keep them on their best behaviour.

Comments

[Linda Sherwood]

The photo was shot by Daddy. Mommy was volunteering as a "timer" at the track meet, but Mommy saw Daddy take that particular photo. Right after the photo, he sent little sister and brother over there.

[Sock Girl]

I may have to print this off and file it away for future reference. I can see myself shopping for a telephoto lens in a few years.